LOSING two MPL game changers was something that caught the community by surprise in the leadup to the upcoming 9th Season of the MPL-PH.
The introduction of the V33Wise tandem revolutionized the Philippine Mobile Legends scene as they both brought something new to the table. Through their efforts, they brought the healing meta and the utility jungler into the competitive scene.
This was complemented by Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna’s S-tier shotcalling skills — something that Blacklist will surely miss in Season 9 and a quality that was highlighted by Theo “Uomi” Ignacio in a Spin.ph Zoom In session.
“This is really big kase considering na shotcalling is an artform itself. Not all players could be shotcallers, not all players could be good shotcallers. It’s easy to shotcall eh, you could just easily say kung anong kailangan gawin pero ibang klase kase yung marunong talaga mag-communicate at kilala yung boses,” said the literature major turned ML shoutcaster.
He added: “I think V33nus with his experience and of course his knowledge in the game is what makes Blacklist great. Now that he’s not part of Blacklist International in Season 9, there’s obviously going to be a big gap there.”
Though the absence of V33nus will be a major blow for the Codebreakers, the team is still blessed with talent as their three main players in Edward “Edward” Jay Dapadap, Salic “Hadji” Imam, and Kiel “OHEB” Soriano, who all garnered MVP awards in three major tournaments in 2021.
It was Edward who won the finals MVP award in Season 7, while Hadji became the MVP in Season 8. Then OHEB became the star of the show in the M3 World Championship and given their credentials, Uomi believed that the “three kings” could deliver in Season 9.
However, with a different lineup come new concerns. Kent Xavier “KEVIER” Lopez remains as an enigma and Uomi reflected how he could mesh well with the prestige brought in by the three kings.
“It’s quite obvious that they’re still strong, pero ang tanong can they translate that strength into a properly communicated game the same way V33nus does with everybody with a new core in Kevier,” said the caster.
KEVIER never saw action during the Sibol qualifiers and he’ll definitely have a lot to prove, especially in his very first match against Onic PH.
A different UBE is emerging for Blacklist?
But the shotcalling isn’t the only factor that would affect the Codebreakers. Fellow MPL shoutcaster, Manjean “Manjean” Faldas explained that Blacklist might deploy a different set of heroes, especially with Wise out of the equation.
“Sinasabi ni V33nus, ‘Legit na change for sure kase hero pool pa lang eh,’ Manjean pointed out. "If you’re part of a team, alam mo sa isang player na, ‘Oh eto hero pool nito, ito yung pipiliin natin.”
He went out: “Ako magca-call ako na feeling ko magiging iba, kase Hadji iba main heroes niya eh. Si V33nus ever since Season 4, yun ang main heroes (Estes and Rafaela) noong pumasok. Sila yung nag-introduce ng ganoong strat.”
In fact, the new set of heroes might bring a new flavor to Blacklist’s signature ‘UBE’ strategy and Uomi was interested to know how it would look in Season 9.
“It’s going to be the same UBE but with different ingredients. Tingnan natin kung mas matamis ba or mas maputla,” he said.
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